Sun City resident shoots below his age

When Raleign Wright turned 65, he began seriously trying to shoot his age.

It took him about two years to do it, but now the feat is almost no sweat for the 70-year-old Sun City resident.

Wright twice shot below his age last month, carding a 68 during a couples event at Okatie Creek on June 17 and a 69 at Hidden Cypress a week later. He has shot below his age three times in 2012 after doing it only once before he turned 70.

“I guess as you get older, it gets easier,” Wright said. “It took me a while. For the first two years, I wasn’t able to do it. Even though I wasn’t playing for money or anything, there was a ‘choke’ factor there. I think that makes you appreciate the guys that play golf for a living.”

Wright moved to Sun City from Palmdale, Calif., in 2006 after working for 36 years as a high school math teacher. He said his golfing “claim to fame” occurred during his four-year career in college, when he appeared in two tournaments with Jack Nicklaus, who was a star at Ohio State at the time.

“It’s not like we were in the same foursome,” Wright said, “but we were in the same tournaments.”

Wright currently plays four or five times a week, he said, and is part of a 16-person group that pairs up every Friday.

Fellow Sun City resident Wally Pratt is a member of that group who knows just how difficult it is to shoot one’s age. He also knows it gets easier. Pratt, who just turned 76, said he has done it 37 times — most recently in May.

Pratt has known Wright for seven years and plays with him once a week. He said Wright was with him when he shot a 66 at Hidden Cypress six years ago.

“I’m a lot older than him, so it’s easier for me,” Pratt said with a laugh. “The technology keeps improving, so we’re not getting a lot worse. As long as you stay in good shape, it gets easier.”